The invention relates to a photomultiplier tube comprising an electron multiplier assembly having supports provided with a plurality of slots and a plurality of electrodes attached to the supports by means of attachment lips which are each disposed inside a respective slot.
The invention can be very advantageously used, for example, in the field of photomultiplier tubes when electrodes, called dynodes, are to be kept in slots formed in insulating supports which are also used as spacers.
Various supports for holding dynodes, as described in the opening paragraph, are known, for example, a supporting board having narrow slots and a dynode with an attachment lip whose end portion is bent after insertion into the slot. Another interesting support however, comprises wide slots which cooperate with a protrusion formed on the attachment lip whose end portion may alternatively be bent.
The present state-of-the-art photomultiplier tubes having supporting boards, however, all have drawbacks. The manufacture of a supporting board having narrow slots is a difficult and costly operation; moreover, its application is difficult because introducing anattachment lip into a narrow slot is a delicate operation for the person entrusted therewith. On the other hand, it is much simpler to produce a wide slot because of the larger tolerances, however, a special shape will nevertheless have to be imparted to the attachment lip, such as the formation of a protrusion, which increases the cost of the holding device. In addition, in the two examples described above, the bending of the end portion of the attachment lip after its insertion renders the use of the photomultiplier tube more complex and hence more costly.